Lakeside Shadows: The Hannah Anderson Abduction

What began as an ordinary afternoon in the quiet suburb of Lakeside would soon ignite a manhunt that stretched across state lines.

Season 1 Episode 5 - Lakeside Shadows: The Hannah Anderson Abduction from California Crime with Amy Jean, a true crime podcast based out of California.

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Transcript

Speaker 2 0:00

On the summer Sunday evening, August 4, 2013, firefighters are called to 2071 Ross Avenue in the remote community of Boulevard near San Diego for a large structure fire. They arrive at a house fully engulfed in flames. Investigators learn that the homeowner is Jim DiMaggio. While searching the ruins of the house, firefighters discover a body. It is immediately assumed that DiMaggio perished in the fire, and loved ones begin to grieve his loss. But upon further observation, investigators conclude that the charred remains in his home are actually that of a female. This is the abduction of Hannah Anderson. Welcome to California Crime with Amy Jean. I'm your host out of California, Amy Jean. On this podcast, we will be covering true crime stories bi-weekly. Earlier, I told you about the discovery of human remains found in a smoldering home. But before we move along with this story, I do need to give a disclaimer. Since no one was arrested, charged, tried, or convicted of a crime, factual or alleged, in this story, anyone mentioned could be considered innocent. Sunday, August 4, 2013, CHP receives a phone call about a large structure fire on the 2000 block of Ross Avenue and Boulevard at around 8 p.m. A log cabin-style house is completely consumed in flames by the time Calfire firefighters arrive. Nearly two hours later, after the second story collapses into the first story, the house burns to the ground. While officials continue their investigation, a fire captain finds the charred remains of a body in the three-car garage next to the house, face down under a green tarp. Responders notify the San Diego Sheriff's Department. Once deputies arrive, they immediately learn that the house belongs to a divorced 40-year-old single man, James Lee DiMaggio, who works in telecommunications at the Scripps Research Institute. Upon discovering that the body is not DiMaggio, but a female, police race to find out the identity of the victim, which they soon learn is Lakeside resident Christina Anderson, 44, whose husband is a good friend of DiMaggio. Her SEV is parked next to the house. Christina Marie Saintgum Anderson, who also went by Tina, was born July 1st, 1969 in Columbus, Georgia. She moved with her parents to La Mesa, California in January of 1978. After graduating from Santana High School and Merritt College, Christina worked as a holistic health practitioner. She was described by friends as loving, a good wife, and never passing a day that wasn't for her kids, Hannah 16 and Ethan 8. She was a dance and fitness enthusiast and loved NASCAR. She had been separated from her husband Brett for the last few months prior to her death. Brett Anderson had been living in Nashville, Tennessee, working for a company which builds cellular phone towers. Brett reportedly viewed DiMaggio as his best friend, and his children thought of him as an uncle. Christina, who was considered a great mother by Minnie, is now laying in the smoldering ash of DiMaggio's ruined cabin. It is apparent to police that she didn't die in an accident. There is extreme trauma to her body, and a crowbar is found next to her. It is evident from her bound ankles, duct tape mouth, and fractured limbs that she has been tortured. But on that summer night, it wasn't just Christina who was found deceased. A second body, that of a child's, is also found, but it's so badly burned, officials are unable to immediately identify the remains. In the garage, police also find a dog shot to death. DiMaggio is nowhere to be found, and his Nissan is missing. Investigators work into the night, gathering information from the crime scene. Police find evidence that the fire was premeditated and most likely started from a homemade explosive. It's clear that the fire wasn't used to commit murder, but to cover it up. DiMaggio and Christina's two children, who are unaccounted for, quickly become a focus of the investigation. Anna Marie Anderson was born July 22nd, 1997. The 16-year-old is a gymnast at El Capitan High School in rural Lakeside, California, a region in San Diego County. She also participates in an advanced dance class and recently celebrated a birthday with about two dozen friends at a San Diego Cabaret bar. Ethan Anderson was born October 8, 2004, in La Mesa, California. He attends Lindale Lake Elementary School in Lakeside. He enjoys sports, fishing, baseball, and playing PV football. Like his mother, he too is an ASCAR fan. The next day, Monday, August 5th, as investigators piece the evidence together, they announced they're searching for suspect James Lee DiMaggio in connection with arson and the murder of Christina Anderson and the child victim. They declined to offer a possible motive for the deaths and do not disclose the further details of the case, but investigators do discover that DiMaggio set fire to his home using a timer, giving him a 20-hour head start on law enforcement. San Diego County officials also issue a statewide amber alert for the Lakeside siblings who are believed to be traveling with the murder suspect in a blue Nissan Versa. The siblings' grandparents had reported them missing the night before. Authorities at this point suspect that DiMaggio killed Christina and possibly Ethan before snatching Hannah as she left cheerleading practice. They determined that Hannah's cell phone was turned off around the time she was last seen at cheer practice. After the Amber alert was issued at a news conference, Brett Anderson pleads with DiMaggio to release his daughter. He states, quote, Jim, I can't fathom what you were thinking. The damage is done. I'm begging you to let my daughter go. You've taken everything else. Hannah we all love you very much. If you have a chance, you take it. You run. You'll be found. End quote.

Speaker 1 6:43

A desperate plea from the father of two missing children. San Diego police issuing an amber alert for Ethan and Hannah Anderson after investigators found the remains of their mother and an unidentified child. Well, now the children's dad is addressing the suspected killer and kidnapper and telling his daughter to escape if she can.

Speaker 7:06

The damage is done. Hannah, we all love you very much. If you have a chance, you take it. You run. You'll be found. Thank you.

Speaker 2 7:26

On Wednesday, August 7th, the Amber Alert, the first alert sent to cell phones in California, is extended to Oregon and Washington. On Thursday, August 8th, a close friend of Hannah's reports to the San Diego Union Tribune that DiMaggio said he had a crush on Hannah. The 15-year-old added that she was in the car with the two when DiMaggio said, quote, if you were my age, I would want to date you, end quote. After that, Hannah didn't want to be alone with him. The teen also recalls a time when DiMaggio took Hannah to Hollywood for her birthday. The weeklong trip was cut to two days because he was upset that Hannah was paying more attention to her phone than to him. According to Hannah's grandparents, Ralph and Sarah Britt, there were signs that DiMaggio was infatuated with Hannah and was trying to lure the family to his home in rural San Diego County. They stated the signs were subtle. Ralph Brett said, quote, he seemed to enjoy being with Hannah and her friends more and more, but he's been with the kids for years, end quote. DiMaggio's friendship with the family predated Hannah's birth. Hannah was unnerved by DiMaggio's comments, but did not tell her mother because she didn't want to ruin the close relationship that her parents had with him. Looking for a motive for the murders and kidnapping, investigators dig into DiMaggio's computer. They find emails to Hannah that indicate he feared Hannah was growing up and growing away from him. On Friday, August 9th, a possible sighting of Hannah and DiMaggio is reported by a horseback rider in a rural community of Idaho known as the River of No Return Wilderness. The rider spots an older man with a young blonde hiking together deep in the wilderness of the mountains. The pair had a tent and each was carrying a backpack. The girl they saw was in pajama pants and battered sneakers. The man was holding a gray house cat. When the rider returned home at the end of the day, they heard news reports of the nationwide hunt for DiMaggio and put Chu and Chu together. The FBI knows that DiMaggio has a gray cat as a pet. This sighting narrows the manhunt, with investigators now focusing their search near Cascade, Idaho, approximately 400 miles from the Canadian border. Officials say the train is rugged and dangerous and cannot be accessed by car. The no-return wilderness is 2.3 million rugged acres of cliffs, mountains, and river valleys. It is the second largest wilderness area in the United States. And authorities are aware that DiMaggio is an avid outdoorsman. Later that day, DiMaggio's Blue Nissan Versa is found in a remote, hard-to-reach area about six miles from where the horseback rider reported seeing the pair. The car is covered in brush in an attempt to conceal it and its license plates are removed. Once searched, officials later determine the vehicle is not rigged with explosives. That evening, Hannah's friends hold a candlelight vigil for the teen near her El Capitan High School. Pink ribbons of support are tied on the trees and houses around town. Many in the community are hopeful for her safe return after hearing that she was spotted alive in Idaho. Around the same time as the vigil, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department confirms the second victim found inside the burned down home in Boulevard are those of Hannah's little brother, eight-year-old Ethan Anderson. Saturday, August 10th, after the reported sighting, more than 200 law enforcement officials from the FBI, state, and local agencies arrived in the rural area. The isolated area, which has only a few cabins and limited cell phone service, is searched by officers on horseback and by helicopter. In the afternoon, DiMaggio's camp is located by police via aerial view. Authorities are able to confirm the sighting of a blue tent, adult male, and teenage blonde. After the aviation confirmation sighting, the mission goes from a search to a hostage rescue. A ground team is assembled to advance on what is dubbed the Crisis Site. The team is made up of a canine unit, an Airbus or A-Star helicopter, a Blackhawk, and several snipers. The team's helicopter lands on a small ridge off of a summit. They disembark from the helicopter and encroach into the wilderness. FBI agents now have to trek three miles straight uphill in tactical gear, body armor over camouflage, with rifles, handguns, night vision goggles, and their tactical kit. But time and light is becoming a factor. It is just after 5 p.m. and it is beginning to get dark. With the rescue team moving into place, aerial surveillance sees something remarkable. It is Hannah waving her arms at the sky, as if signaling the plane. She is waving what looks like a white handkerchief while DiMaggio is off collecting firewood. On the ground, the FBI hostage rescue team begins staging. Snipers take position in the west of the lake, providing intelligence through their sniper scopes. They're also providing essential support to the team advancing on the crisis site. If there's a threat, the snipers will be able to take care of it easily. With the snipers positioned, the hostage rescue team hides under brush, waiting for the moment to strike. One of their requirements to move in on the arrest is distance and a separation between Hannah and DiMaggio. Finally, the hostage team receives information that Hannah is down by the lake. She's as far away from DiMaggio as they've seen her. They get word to execute the rescue. While advancing on the crisis site, they hear a small caliber gun discharging, which sounds like the snapping of sticks. As they hear over their audio, return fire, they begin running towards the site. They hear Hannah screaming and find DiMaggio laying on his back. Although tactical sharpshooters pumped at least five bullets into DiMaggio, agents handcuff him as part of their procedure. They then start securing the crime scene and tending to Hannah, who is confused and crying. Hannah asks FBI agents about DiMaggio's condition. They reply that he will no longer hurt her. Before leaving the site, they ask Hannah if there is anything from the campground that she wants to take with her. She tells them that she needs to grab a pair of jeans. An agent retrieves them from the tent. The jeans are her mother's, and she wants to return them to her. Hannah then asks how her mother and brother are doing. He said that it wasn't the right time to tell her what happened to them. The goal was to get her off the mountain. At the campsite, the other helicopter is brought in to whisk Hannah off to a hospital. Doctors and a team of FBI experts are waiting for her. Since she doesn't know that her mother and little brother have been killed, it falls to the FBI team to eventually tell her. The next day, agents bring the gray cat to her, but she refuses it. It had been DiMaggio's pet and is eventually returned to his family. The rescue of Hannah and shooting of her abductor is a dramatic end to a weeklong hunt that included a five-state amber alert and ended at the northern edge of a lake. Back at home, Hannah's family not only has to arrange a funeral for two family members that decide Hannah's new living arrangements. While Brett initially wanted Hannah to move with him to Tennessee, he decides that uprooting her from family and friends wouldn't help with her recovery. He resigns from his job and moves back to San Diego. It is decided that Hannah will finish her education at El Capitan High School. At a news conference, Brett pleads for privacy, saying, quote, it's time to grieve and move on to the healing process, end quote. He also thanks all the branches of law enforcement involved in the investigation, as well as people who share their hearts and thoughts through social media. A memorial service is held for Hannah's mother and young brother at the Guardian Angels Roman Catholic Church in Santee. The service is open to the public, and the church in Santee accommodates more than 1,000 mourners. Days after Hannah's rescue, evidence, revealed in search warrants, made public, raises new questions about her abduction. The evidence includes a packet of letters Hannah had written to DiMaggio, as well as cell phone records showing that the two had exchanged about a dozen phone calls in the hours before DiMaggio's home burned to the ground, killing Hannah's mother and younger brother. In an interview conducted at the end of August, Hannah explains that the texts she traded with DiMaggio were to make arrangements for him to pick her up from cheerleading practice. San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore says interviews with Hannah made it very clear that she is a victim in every sense of the word. He added, quote, she was a victim in this case, she was not a willing participant, and she was under extreme duress from the time she left Boulevard to the time she was recovered in Idaho, end quote. But DiMaggio's sister Laura fiercely defended her brother, claiming there is no evidence pinning him to the alleged murders. She states, quote, I think Hannah got herself into a situation she couldn't get herself out of, and my brother gave his life to protect her. There are lots of holes in this case, lots of misinformation, end quote. Laura describes how Hannah had stayed at her home just three weeks before the horrific events. She says, quote, I remember telling my brother, she is trouble. Watch out for that one. She wasn't very gracious and was wearing very heavy eye makeup. The only fact is that some bodies were found on his property. End quote. DiMaggio named Hannah's grandmother, Bernice Anderson, as the sole beneficiary of his employer-issued life insurance policy, making her eligible to receive over $100,000. It was reported that DiMaggio's sister had requested paternity tests to determine if her brother fathered the children. However, she denied this in an interview with Pierce Morgan. Hannah's father, Brett Anderson, gave his DNA to investigators to confirm Ethan's identity. In the weeks that followed her rescue, Hannah took to social media to answer questions about herself and her ordeal. She answered questions from her favorite color to which celebrities she liked, and when someone asked her, Are you glad he's dead? She wrote back, Absolutely. I clearly can't speak for Hannah. I don't know her intentions, but I do know that she was a 16-year-old minor who had just lived through catastrophic trauma. In a lot of situations, teenagers don't act like adults in traumatic situations because they aren't adults. They don't have the life experience to draw from, nor the brain development. When I was a teenager, I posted a lot of things on social media in my moments of pain that I'm not proud of. But I did it because I was young and reacting in the only way I knew how to, by trying to connect to my peers. People still had issues with the motive for the crimes. Why would a man murder his friend's wife and son, burn down his own home, and flee with a 16-year-old? With the allegations of DiMaggio being infatuated with Hannah, honestly, that was enough motive for me. But it is also claimed that at the time of the crimes, DiMaggio was having financial troubles that were leading to foreclosure on his cabin. I'm only speculating, but perhaps he felt backed into a corner, and this made a seemingly kind man snap. DiMaggio's father, also named James DiMaggio, shockingly killed himself 18 years to the day that DiMaggio was shot dead by FBI snipers in the Idaho wilderness. The similarities between father and son are uncanny. It was claimed in reports that James DiMaggio Sr. was also infatuated with a 16-year-old girl who was one of his son's classmates. He allegedly resorted to violence when she refused to run away with him. Surprisingly, the year following Hannah's rescue, two books are published, alleging that Hannah lied to police and was somehow involved in the crimes committed in August of 2013. In 2015, Lifetime came out with a movie called Kidnapped, the Hannah Anderson Story, that follows her kidnapping and the aftermath of her rescue. From what I remember, Hannah not only didn't authorize it, but said it was inaccurate. So if you decide to watch it, take it with a grain of salt. I did a little bit of research to see where she is today, and she has a family of her own now and lives out of state. Again, thank you for listening. You, our listener, means so much to us. Thank you to our sound engineer Josh. His skills are greatly appreciated. I'm your host, Amy Jean. Stay safe and take care of you.